Chief Advancement Officer

About the Role

The Oaks Academy is seeking a seasoned advancement leader to build on its 28-year history of providing a rich, classical, Christ-centered education to a diverse student body. This role will capitalize on recent organizational momentum and lead philanthropic efforts to support the school’s mission, growth objectives, and long-term financial sustainability. The successful candidate will join an organization with strong alignment around building an endowment, an experienced advancement team, and significant growth opportunities through federal tax credits.

Responsibilities

• Provide leadership for The Oaks Academy's advancement strategy, aligning philanthropic priorities with the school's mission, growth objectives, and long-term financial sustainability.
• Lead and oversee all fundraising initiatives, including major gifts, annual giving, capital campaigns, planned giving, stewardship, events, and donor engagement.
• Partner with the CEO, Leadership Team, and Board of Trustees to advance philanthropic goals and cultivate a strong culture of giving across the organization.
• Manage and grow a portfolio of major donors and prospects, building meaningful relationships with individuals, families, foundations, corporations, and community leaders.
• Develop and execute strategies to increase philanthropic support and grow The Oaks Academy endowment.
• Lead efforts to identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward individual, foundation, and corporate donors.
• Provide leadership, coaching, and professional development for a high-performing advancement team of four professionals.
• Create and manage a comprehensive planned giving program.
• Ensure ethical stewardship of donor relationships and compliance with all fundraising policies, procedures, and best practices.
• Oversee advancement operations, including budgeting, donor databases, prospect research, reporting, and supporting systems and processes.
• Collaborate with the Marketing and Communications team to strengthen fundraising campaigns, donor communications, alumni engagement, events, and annual giving initiatives.
• Foster strong partnerships across departments to understand organizational priorities and advance school-wide goals.
• Serve as a visible ambassador for The Oaks Academy, effectively communicating its mission, impact, and value to diverse constituencies.
• Contribute to strategic planning and organizational leadership as a member of the school's Leadership Team.

Requirements

• Demonstrates a relationship-first approach to fundraising and donor engagement.
• Minimum of 10 years of progressive fundraising experience, preferably in a faith-based, educational, or nonprofit setting.
• Proven success in cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding major gifts.
• Experience leading, developing, and managing high-performing teams.
• Demonstrated track record of fundraising success, including achieving ambitious philanthropic goals.
• Strategic thinker with the ability to align advancement initiatives with organizational priorities and long-term objectives.
• Strong interpersonal, communication, and relationship-building skills.
• Committed Christian who actively supports and embraces the Christ-centered mission, values, and culture of The Oaks Academy.